Behaviors to Maintain Weight Loss

Weight Loss Study Aim
To evaluate whether individuals who lost weight on their own (n = 447),
through organized programs (n = 313) or with liquid formula (n = 133)
would differ in the strategies they used to maintain their weight losses.

Weight Loss Study Design
All subjects were members of the National Weight Control Registry, had
lost > or = 13.6 kg (30 pounds), and kept it off at least one year
(mean weight loss = 30.1+/-14.9 kg and mean duration of maintenance =
5.7+/-6.9 y).

Weight Loss Study Results
Liquid Formula users differed from the other two groups on many characteristics;
they were more likely to be women, older, heavier, and to have had a medical
disorder prior to weight loss. To maintain their weight loss, the Liquid
Formula group reported greater use of dietary strategies (for example,
counting calories, limiting the amount of calories from fat) and higher
dietary restraint. Liquid Formula users reported that weight maintenance
was more difficult than losing weight, whereas individuals who lost weight
on their own reported the reverse. The On Own group reported expending
a higher percentage of calories through strenuous activities such as running
and weight lifting, and reported weighing themselves more frequently to
maintain weight loss. Despite these behavioral differences, all three
groups are maintaining their weight losses similarly by eating a low calorie
diet (5792.3 kJ/d and 25 percent of daily calories from fat) and engaging
in high levels of physical activity (11847.3 kJ/week).

Weight Loss Study Conclusions
Despite using different methods to lose weight, individuals who lost weight
on their own, through an organized program, or with a liquid formula,
use similar behavioral strategies to maintain their weight loss.